How many voters didn't fill in boxes?

Call me a slow learner, but I missed the none-too-prominent instructions on the primary ballot saying that the square boxes on the ballot had to be completely filled in. So did half the folks at a breakfast meeting yesterday morning. The people who handed out the ballots did not mention this point. The fine-pointed pens provided meant that it took a good deal of effort to fill in the sizable squares. And, last but not least, one normally fills in circles on forms and puts a check or an "X" in boxes. Also, better verbal instructions would be more than a little helpful.

Want your vote counted? Watch out for this one in the general election.

Nick Huddleston
Honolulu

Don't raise age for teenage drivers

In response to the Sept. 9 article in the Star-Bulletin on drivers' licenses, I feel that without our drivers' licenses it'll make life a lot harder for teenagers. Currently the age for driving is 16, but an auto safety organization is urging states to raise the age limit to 17 or 18.

Safe driving is not so much about age, but rather how responsible you are. It's not fair to penalize everyone for the few who drive recklessly and don't obey the laws.

It's not practical to have our parents chauffeur us all around until we graduate. In some cases, it might be easier on the parents if we got our licenses because we could help drive younger siblings, run errands and drive ourselves to school and sports activities. For those like me who don't live in the district where they attend school, it would be easier if we could drive ourselves and lighten the hassle of our parents who have to drive us.

Anyone who is against raising the driving age should call their elected representatives.

Shelby Tanaka
Kaneohe

Obama-Biden will provide leadership

Barack Obama and Joe Biden represent intelligence returning to the White House. They also represent the kind of experience with hard work, family and the basic tenets of the Democratic Party that have been lost in a sea of corruption and greed. They will enact major changes in personnel with leadership positions around the presidential office. Obama graduated from Columbia and Harvard Law School, magna cum laude. He represents the link to the young minds and energetic abilities of a new generation. He knows what it takes to lead whole communities of the discouraged in a "help myself" direction. This is the essence of America today, from the storm-ravaged states through major cities' infrastructure. He's a leader in every sense of the word!

Joe Biden knows about family struggle. He is from a middle-class family, lost his wife and baby girl in an accident that seriously injured his sons. He learned how to be a single parent and became strong through this adversity. He will know how to assist President Obama with foreign relations decisions because of his experience in this area.

Together, this honest, hard-working team promise their devotion to the American people and offer security and a new direction for our country that is so desperately needed.

Janet Powell
Waianae

Marine is a hero with or without top medal

I just read the story about Kaneohe-based Sgt. Rafael Peralta of the U.S. Marine Corps receiving the Navy Cross instead of the Medal Of Honor (Star-Bulletin, Sept. 19). I feel he deserves the Medal of Honor for the ultimate sacrifice he made, regardless of how prior injuries were received. However, I believe Peralta did not make the sacrifice for the medal, he did it for the love of his fellow Marine. Regardless of the medal awarded, he will always be a hero!

To the family of Peralta, I extend my most heartfelt condolences and my most gracious gratitude for the ultimate sacrifices that they have contributed to the preservation of the free world.

Billy Kennedy
Texas City, Texas

Reagan ushered in era of economic disaster

The ongoing meltdown of the huge financial groups shows that we have forgotten the lessons of the Great Depression. The economic breakdown back in the 1930s demonstrated that capitalists simply can not be trusted: They are essentially motivated by greed and narrow self-interest and if not regulated closely will bring the whole system down. And tens of millions of ordinary people will suffer.

Since the Reagan regime of the '80s, the power of corporations in this country, when allied with the politicians doing their bidding, has steadily undermined the regulatory controls established during and after the Depression. The consequence is the kind of pyramiding crisis we are dealing with now. If massive taxpayer-financed bailouts are provided for these companies, which have brought the financial system to the brink of disaster, they must be accompanied by the strictest regulations and control over their future activities. Public representatives should be sitting on their boards. It is high time to take this country back from the Wall Street investment bankers, real estate interests and financial manipulators and the politicians who serve them.

Noel J. Kent
Honolulu

How to write us

The Star-Bulletin welcomes letters that are crisp and to the point (~175 words). The Star-Bulletin reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length. Please direct comments to the issues; personal attacks will not be published. Letters must be signed and include a daytime telephone number.